Going Medieval returns to the record after almost five years in Early Access, having gone unvisited since its earliest days. Upon reexamination, the game presents itself as a far more polished and complete experience.
At its core, the game still draws heavily from RimWorld, borrowing many of its structural ideas and systems. However, the transition to a fully 3D environment and a medieval setting gives it a bit of a distinct identity of its own.
As play continued, small but meaningful differences began to emerge. One of the most notable systems involves the creation and preservation of books, which are required for technological progress. Losing them can halt advancement entirely, forcing players to rebuild knowledge before moving forward again. In the end you are basically going to have to build a large library and protect it to advance your technology and that is kind of a cool concept.
Across four to five hours of on-stream play I had no major complaints. No noticeable bugs outside of Twitch integration, and it was easy on system resources early in colony building.
Oh wait, I did have one big issue. After digging too big of a hole for a well I couldn’t fill in part of the hole. I didnt’ have the technology to fill in a hole in the ground with the dirt I just dug out of there. Instead my colonists had to create 30 research books to figure this out. Thirty books, to learn to fill a hole with dirt. Thirty books. To move dirt.
After years away, the record has been updated.
The settlement lives again.
Pronouncement: Resurrected.